Jagged Embrace

Chapter 58 - Will

Will put the bag of food in the front seat when he noticed the distinct movement out of his peripheral vision. Fuck. Something was following him. He sensed it in the diner, but blew it off, thinking he was being paranoid again. Taking a deep breath, there was no mistaking the scent. It was another fucking fleabag. Mason said the job was done. It must have been the runt of the pack out for revenge.

He pulled out his axe, cleaned and ready to go, and turned, surprised to find an old woman not ten feet away from him. She was the fleabag? He breathed in again. It was her. She was in her human form, holding a walking cane. Her brown eyes glared at him. Maybe it was one of the werewolves' grandma.

"So, you're the soldier that took my family," she said in a soft voice.

He nodded.

"You're big enough, that's for sure." She trailed her eyes up and down his body.

Will kept his eyes trained on her and listened to the other customers in the parking lot around them.

"I picked here to talk to you because of all the people. Thought you might be a little less likely to cut off an old woman's head in a parking lot full of people."

"What do you want?"

"I want you punished for your crimes." Her body shook in anger as the grip on her cane tightened.

Of course, they'd taken out her whole family. He said nothing.

"However, it's not likely to happen before I'm dead. You soldiers are a soulless lot, don't understand anything. Just follow orders. Blind." She sniffed the air and narrowed her eyes at him. "I see you've taken a mate," she told him in a knowing voice.

Fuck. She picked up on Maeve's scent, still lingering on him.

"What do you want?" he repeated. He wanted to buy time until the last two cars pulled out. If he timed it right, he might be able to take her head before anyone else showed up.

"I want you, soldier - to wake up," she said quietly.

Her voice seemed to move over him, covering him. It wasn't like the bullshit the angels did or witches, it was something else. He wanted to rage against it, but it felt... familiar. The fuck?

"You don't even understand your crimes yet, what you've done, but you will." She hobbled toward him slowly and used the cane to keep her balance. "You will remember, whether or not you want to. We'll meet again, vârcolac." She patted his hand before she ambled away.

It froze Will to the spot for several minutes as people came and went to the diner. Most of the time, if something crazy like that happened to him, he'd be in a rage for his inaction. Oddly, he felt at peace as he stood in the parking lot, poised to kill something but not motivated to. Even the prick in his head was quiet. It was disconcerting. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the peace drifted away and was replaced by the anger that always fueled him.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed. Some patrons rushed past him and hurried into the diner.

Furious, he tossed his axe in the SUV and climbed in before speeding away. That bitch had totally mind fucked him to escape. He resisted the urge to call Mason and tell her she was wrong. There was still one fleabag left. He had to figure it out. It should be easy to find an old lady werewolf, but taking her out might be problematic, since she could somehow mind fuck people. He'd never even heard of that ability with werewolves before.

Will needed to ask Ander about it tomorrow when they visited him. He couldn't risk Andy getting hurt again and he couldn't tell Mason. She'd just send other Soldiers of Night there, since they'd been kicked out of the field. It was just him, and that bitch had picked up on Maeve's scent. She was in danger, too. Fuck!